Blues: An Anthology

by W.C. Handy

Originally published in 1926, this classic collection of great blues songs is arranged for piano and voice. Among the first black men to write and publish blues music, Handy did more than anyone else to make blues popular and accepted. Considered the most famous blues collection in history, it includes historical notes, tunes and arrangements, notes for each song, a bibliography, and a chart of guitar chords. Illustrated by renowned Mexican illustrator Miguel Covarrubias.

Genres: Music

196 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1985

Reviews

[Luke Martinez · Rating 5 out of 5]

I received this book from an older man with the intent that I learn about the history of blues music, and I have learned wonders! Although it does contain sheet music, it has so much more. The introduction is an incredible tale of what blues is and how it came to be popular. It talks about the lyrics and what they meant to the people who wrote them.

I love the book's intro, which I talked about, But I also love the annotations that come with each song that was included. Playing through the songs of this book was like an interactive way of reading it. You heard everything that the comment had told you about.

My absolute favorite way to learn about music

[Bookamante · Rating 5 out of 5]

Although I don't know how to read music scores very well, this anthology is like the bible for the blues. I wish I knew about it when I started playing piano and guitar.

[Vasile · Rating 5 out of 5]

A must have book about the history of the Blues with scores and lyrics.

[Daphne Simpkins · Rating 5 out of 5]

As a fan of W. C. Handy I enjoyed this book very much. Handy championed blues and was the first musician to write them down for the rest of us to enjoy. He has assembled a fine collection here, some of them hard to find in other books. I keep it handy.